Pending home sales rise in June

New home sales have slumped for two months in a row, but pending sales of existing homes rose again in June -- by 2.4% after an 8.2% rise a month earlier. That topped expectations for a 2% decline. By region, sales were down 0.4% in the Northeast and down 3.7% in the Midwest, but up 4.4% in the South and up 6.4% in the West. The index level of 90.9 was the highest since March. Clearly, the pattern of uneven housing data continues. Sales, construction activity, and pricing are gyrating around from month to month, but making little net progress overall.